Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air with 512GB SSD drops to record low

SAVE $200: As of Aug. 6, the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) is on sale for $1,199 at Amazon and Best Buy. That's 14% off its $1,399 MSRP and its lowest price to date.

Now continues to be an excellent time to buy a new MacBook Air: Every configuration of Apple's lightweight M4-powered laptop is on sale for a record-low price thanks to some $200 discounts at Amazon and Best Buy. That's not a huge surprise, as the back-to-school season is ripe for laptop deals of all kinds. But the quality and quantity of these offers is particularly impressive, especially when you stack them against the Apple Store's education pricing.

The 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage is the cheapest option at $799, but if you'd like more screen space and a bit more storage, the 15-inch, 512GB variant is marked down to just $1,199 at both retailers. That's a $200 savings, down 14% from the laptop's usual sticker price of $1,399.

For comparison's sake, the same 15-inch model is only $100 off in the Apple Store for college students — though it does come with your pick of a free accessory worth up to $199, like AirPods Pro 2 or a Magic Mouse. Decide for yourself if you'd prefer a bigger monetary discount upfront or more total savings in the form of a freebie.

The 15-inch M4 MacBook Air was crowned our favorite MacBook earlier this year, offering a premium design and an all-day battery life for a great price. It also scored incredibly well in our performance benchmark, proving to be faster than about 90% of models in our laptop testing database. Read our full review.